Roger Waters Says Radiohead Should Stop “Whining” About Israel Concert Protest And “Educate Themselves”
Although everyone has already been arguing about it for months now, Radiohead’s controversial concert in Tel Aviv is finally coming up on Wednesday. And Roger Waters, who signed the initial letter urging Radiohead to cancel back in April and who later issued a statement countering Thom Yorke’s claim that he never tried to start a private dialogue, has once again criticized the band for not adhering to the Boycott, Divestment, And Sanctions Movement.
Yesterday, in an hour-long Facebook Live talk hosted by the BDS Movement, as Rolling Stone reports, Waters responded to Yorke’s most recent statement on the matter, in which the Radiohead frontman wrote that “Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds not closed ones, about shared humanity, dialogue and freedom expression,” comparing the situation to performing in America under the Trump administration. “My answer to people who say we should go there and sit around the campfire and sing songs: No, we shouldn’t,” Waters said. “We should observe the picket line. Anybody who’s tempted to do that, like our friends in Radiohead, if only they would actually educate themselves. I know Thom Yorke’s been whining about how he feels insulted, people are suggesting he doesn’t know what’s going on.”
Addressing Yorke directly, Waters continued: “Well Thom, you shouldn’t feel insulted because if you did know what’s going on, you would have a conversation with director] Ken Loach, who’s been begging you to have a conversation, or with me, I begged you, Thom. I sent you a number emails, begging you to have a conversation. As did Brian Eno; you ignored us all, you won’t speak to anyone about anything. So it’s that kind isolationism that is extremely unhelpful to everybody. I look forward to — if you feel like it, when you finish your trip to Israel, because you probably still will go — write me a letter and tell me how much good you did and how much change you managed to affect by chatting with musicians.”
You can watch Waters’ Facebook Live talk below.